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Mental Health

Treating Functional Neurologic Disorder (FND) — “Not Your Parent’s Functional Neurologic Disorder”

Tuesday, May 20, 2025
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm EDT; 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm CDT;
11:00 am – 12:00 pm MDT; 10:00 am – 11:00 am PDT
Register Here

Presenter Bios:

Samuel Zachary, MOT, OTR/L
Sam is an occupational therapist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) in the inpatient rehabilitation and amplified musculoskeletal pain syndrome (AMPS) programs. Sam brings experience from a variety of medical-based pediatric settings, including acute care, in-patient rehabilitation, and multi-disciplinary outpatient clinics.

Over the past four years, Sam’s practice has focused on the AMPS Intensive Program and Clinic at CHOP. He is passionate about treating children and adolescents with AMPS, functional neurological disorder, or both. He brings great enthusiasm while sharing his knowledge and best practices for caring for this unique population.

Lori Kile, PTA

Lori is a physical therapist assistant at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) working in the inpatient rehabilitation and amplified musculoskeletal pain syndrome (AMPS) programs. She began her career at CHOP in 1998 and has dedicated over 25 years of service to the institution. She worked in a variety of pediatric settings, including outpatient, acute care, and inpatient rehab, prior to finding her passion for treating youth and teens with Amplified Musculoskeletal Pain and Functional Neurological Disorder. Lori now specializes with these populations; she is also involved with the International FND society, where she helps to develop deliverables and build the knowledge base regarding the diagnosis. She loves to share her knowledge and lessons learned to build the skills of others and promote best practices in treatment of patients with FND.

Objectives: Following this course, the learner will:

  • Identify recent changes in the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of pediatric patients with FND.
  • Obtain a best practice framework for treating pediatric patients in the rehabilitation setting.
  • Learn about best practice for measuring outcomes with pediatric patients with FND.

Audience: This webinar is intended for all interested members of the rehabilitation team.

Level: Beginner

Certificate of Attendance: Certificates of attendance are available for all attendees. No CEs are provided for this course.

Complimentary webinars are a benefit of membership in IPRC/RCPA. Registration fee for non-members is $179. Not a member yet? Consider joining today.

The team at Greenspace Health are hosting a timely and insightful panel to explore the evolving role of Measurement-Based Care (MBC) in accreditation and clinical practice. The session, Measurement-Based Care & CARF Accreditation: Driving Quality Through Measurable Outcomes, brings together an exceptional group of experts to discuss how organizations can leverage MBC to improve outcomes, align with accreditation standards, and elevate care quality across their services. The webinar will be held May 15 at 1:00 pm EDT. Register here.

Speakers include:

  • Michael Johnson, Senior Managing Director of Behavioral Health at CARF;
  • Dr. Kimberly Gordon-Achebe, Medical Director of Mobile Response and Stabilization Services at iMind Behavioral Health, a CARF accredited organization leveraging MBC;
  • Dr. James Boswell, Associate Professor and Director of Clinical Training at the University at Albany; and
  • Host: Jeremy Weisz, CEO and Co-Founder at Greenspace Health.

Whether you’re preparing for CARF accreditation, already using MBC, or exploring how to integrate it into your practice, this webinar will offer actionable insights, real-world strategies, and guidance on meeting CARF’s updated 2025 standards which now require ongoing progress measurement.

If you are unable to participate live, you can still register to receive the recording and resources after the session.

The Office of Children, Youth and Families (OCYF) Division of Policy has published their quarterly Post on Policy newsletter, highlighting policy updates, work group activities, staff contacts, upcoming changes, and special events. This newsletter was designed to inform and update on all things policy in the Office of Children, Youth, and Families Bureau of Programs, Policy and Operations/Division of Policy. Read the newsletter here.

Please contact Policy Associate Emma Sharp with any questions or concerns.

The Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) April 2025 Stakeholder webinar is currently scheduled for Thursday, April 24, 2025, from 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm. You can register for the webinar here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

For those that want to join via phone:
Call-in Number: (562) 247-8422
Access Code: 757-198-515

Part 1: Motivational Interviewing in Pediatric Therapy
Tuesday, April 15, 2025
11:00 am – 12:00 pm EDT; 10:00 am – 11:00 am CDT;
9:00 am – 10:00 am MDT; 8:00 am – 9:00 am PDT
Register Here

Part 2: Beyond Motivational Interviewing: Additional Strategies to Improve Engagement in Pediatric Therapy
Tuesday, April 22, 2025
11:00 am – 12:00 pm EDT; 10:00 am – 11:00 am CDT;
9:00 am – 10:00 am MDT; 8:00 am – 9:00 am PDT
Register Here

Presenter Bios:

Alison Heinekamp, MOT, OTR/L, CBIS
Alison Heinekamp is an Occupational Therapist and certified brain injury specialist. She currently works as an inpatient occupational therapist at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center practicing in the areas of neurology/neurosurgery and pulmonology. Ali serves on the disorders of consciousness subcommittee of the Ohio Brain Injury Program. She has presented both locally and nationally on topics related to best occupational therapy practices in pediatric brain injury and motivational interviewing in pediatrics.

Heather Blackburn, PT, MPT, CBIS
Heather Blackburn is a pediatric physical therapist who specializes in neuro-rehabilitation, serial casting, and treating children with cerebral palsy and acquired brain injuries. She has presented at OPTA, OPC, Ohio Brain Injury Association, APTA Peds Annual Conference, and AACPDM Annual Conferences on her evidence-based practice work in the areas of serial casting, pediatric brain injury treatment, and aquatic therapy. She is a Certified Brain Injury Specialist and the leader of the Moderate-Severe Brain Injury Translational Research and Clinical Knowledge Team at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Heather holds a Masters in Physical Therapy from Ohio University and was LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities) certified through Ohio State University.

Objectives: Following this course, the learner will be able to:

PART 1

  • Define self-management and describe motivational interviewing (MI) skills;
  • Apply MI strategies to facilitate meaningful conversations with patients and/or caregivers to maximize collaboration; and
  • Apply MI strategies to improve participation in therapy sessions to maximize outcomes.

PART 2

  • Describe the clinician’s role in improving child/adolescent’s participation with collaborative goal setting; and
  • Identify strategies to improve patient engagement with therapy evaluations, treatment sessions, and home exercise programs.

Audience: This webinar series is intended for all interested members of the rehabilitation team.

Level: Beginner-Intermediate

Certificate of Attendance: Certificates of attendance are available for all attendees. No CEs are provided for this course.

Complimentary webinars are a benefit of membership in IPRC/RCPA. Registration fee for non-members is $179. Not a member yet? Consider joining today.